Information literacy is one of those terms that cannot be defined by one meaning, It is dependent on your context, purpose and environment and these influence what definition you associate with it. However in relation to the role of teacher librarian (TL) I identify with the definition outlined by CLIP, (2016) which describes information literacy as “knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner”. I believe this is the main role a TL has within a school. To teach students and staff to be information literate by showing them why we need information, how to source and critic it and how to interact with it in an ethical way.

The different theories of information literacy pose important arguments and as a TL I believe it is important to be open to all approaches of information acquisition. Just as students have different learning needs and learn in different ways, it is of vital importance that TL use the different approaches in their curriculum planning to allow students to interact with information in a variety of ways, as if our aim is to teach for lifelong learning then we have to equip them for the future workplace and depending on what field you work in, information is exchanged and learned not in one formulated way.

Reflecting on the role of a TL within a school, I feel after discovering more about information literacy that enquiry-based units are of even more importance in teaching students to be information literate. These guided based enquiry units teach learners to think, work with, manage, communicate and make meaning of information. These all are vital skills in becoming information literate.

References

CLIP Information Literacy Group. (2016). Information literacy definitions. Retrieved from http://www.informationliteracy.org.uk/definitions/definitions-of-il/

CSU (2016) Information Literacy[ETL401 Module5] Retrieved January 4, 2016, from Charles Stuart University website https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_14213_1&content_id=_1256850_1